LIVE REVIEW: Kate Nash, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (Date: 22.10.07)

The young grow up so fast. Glancing around there are small people who look lost without a conker and a hand full of Pogs. Youngsters line the barrier refusing to acknowledge an elder pushing through the crowd shouting: “When do you want to go home?”, “Do you want another Fruit Shoot?”

An act that attracts such a vast fan base should be celebrated and is, if only if it wasn’t for Rihanna and her pesky rain shield. Tonight Kate Nash has some props of her own. Red tied back velvet curtains, her name in pink neon, fairy lights draped over amps, artificial plants and china ornaments.

The secret behind this Harrow girl’s success is her ability to bring music down from near elite planes to poetry of the public. These familiar themes that line Nash’s music mushroom in significance for every single person. They can try to reach out to her through their bedroom music system but when she’s in front of them they reach out physically and verbally, and she so very kindly and happily reaches back.

The distorted drums of ‘Play’ crash into the room as the neon light sparks to life; the people’s musician arrives. ‘Mariella’, the opener, is an excellent showcase of Kate’s voice. It is amazing! Over exaggerated accent aside, the keys and tones, speed and elocution is dumb-founding. ‘The Shit Song’ is beautiful. The lack of electronic accompaniment helps the daydream of sunny afternoons and large glasses of booze. Non-album track ‘Stitching Leggings’ fills the set list to last the hour and half adequately before returning to stringless ‘Skeleton Song’ and a richly stripped down ‘Birds’. ‘Nicest Thing’ continues the gorgeous low tempo of the most touching tracks before the gears are cranked up for ‘Mouthwash’ and ‘Foundations’. The interchanging, the upbeat and the mellow, is seamless.

The encore finishes the crowd off. A night of banter, smiles, laughs and sweetness is punctuated with Kate lonesome on the piano for ‘Little Red’ and then joined by her band for ‘Pumpkin Song’. The former has a crescendo that would be fitting for any classical concert but the rings of “I just want your kiss boy!” puts ridiculous smiles on every face, Kate’s included.

Words: Dean Samways

Photo: Adam John Miller's MySpace